The Wimberley Players have secured 11 nominations with the 2024 BroadwayWorld Austin Awards for their performance in the musical Legally Blonde.
Directed by Donna Provencher, the small theater group was founded in 1979 and was thrilled that their “female-centric” musical — which ran from July through August — garnered nominations in 10 categories, including Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, and Best Scenic Design of a Play or Musical, among others.
Provencher, a D.C. native who came to Boerne eight years ago, currently sits on the board of governors for the Boerne Community Theatre.
Having been diagnosed with Level 1 Autism and ADHD has not stopped her from pursuing a career in theater. In fact, she said she believes it gifted her a unique perspective in a world that often falls short of supporting female directors.
“What makes you different is not a liability,” Provencher said, when asked to provide encouraging words for other aspiring theater lovers with disabilities. “You have every right to take up space as anyone else.”
With this ideal in mind, during the months of rehearsal for Legally Blonde, Provencher and actress Taylor Dibbs — who played Margot, one of Elle’s best friends — said that the theater group, which were mostly female castmates, fostered an incredibly safe and positive atmosphere.
“I made one of my lifelong friends in the group,” Dibbs, a Boerne native, said. “It was more of a sorority experience than my time in an actual sorority.”
The musical, which runs approximately two hours long, is a story about a woman – Elle – who believes she is going to be proposed to by her sweetheart, only to be left by him for another woman instead.
In an attempt to win his affections back, she follows him to Harvard Law School, where she discovers a previously unknown passion: Justice. Elle pushes the boundaries of harmful stereotypes and builds new friendships on the enjoyable, uplifting journey to self-discovery.
Indeed, it was because of the female positivity in this musical that drove Provencher to choose it.
“It’s very personal to me,” Provencher said. “Women supporting women.”
Dibbs was thrilled when she found out about the casting for the musical on Facebook.
“I would sing all of the songs every night, it’s my favorite musical,” Dibbs said. “The character arc is also better in the musical.”
The success of the musical was proven after being sold out, followed by the nominations of BroadwayWorld Austin. The nominations are voter based, so if you would like to show your support, visit https://www.broadwayworld.com/austin/awards/ to submit your vote. Winning these awards helps with financial assistance for the theater group, which is currently fundraising for their next production, Agatha Christie’s "Mousetrap."
Auditions for Mousetrap will be held Feb. 23 and 24 at 7 p.m. at Boerne Community Theatre. Provencher encourages anyone, regardless of disability, to audition if they would like to be a part of the show, which will perform through the first three weekends of May 2025.
Voting for Legally Blonde the musical ends on Dec. 31, so make sure to cast your vote before the holidays.
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